Division News...

West Virginia Division of Culture and History posts photographs of West Virginia State Museum construction and fabrication on its website

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History has posted photographs of the West Virginia State Museum’s construction and fabrication on its website so that interested visitors can view the progress of the project. The photographs can be accessed at www.wvculture.org/museum/renovate.html.

The website includes a large floor plan of the new museum. By clicking on a room in the floor plan, visitors can see panoramic photographs and some Quicktime VR movies of those locations. The movies pan around a space in a circle, giving the visitor a 360-degree view of the room. A link allows visitors to enter several photo galleries which show work that has been done in the museum since January 2008. These include shots of concrete being poured, installation of electrical and sprinkler systems, building a log cabin and coal mine, sculpting stone walls and creating a railroad tunnel, among others. These photo galleries will continue to be updated as work continues.

Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History said, “These photographs will give our constituents the opportunity to see museum work as it develops. We are very excited about the progress made and invite everyone to visit our website and share in this endeavor.”

The West Virginia State Museum is located on the lower level of the Cultural Center at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The history of the state will be told in the new 23,000-square-foot museum through modern educational exhibits that will appeal to visitors of all ages. There will be a show path, which is a chronological journey of West Virginia history, using themed settings to highlight pivotal moments. Special effects, narration, surround sound, and dynamic theater lighting will help visitors experience what it was like to be a West Virginian during the most important moments in the state’s history.

In addition, discovery rooms will provide visitors with an opportunity to learn more about the history of West Virginia. The discovery rooms will feature artifacts, works of art, stories, music, and film clips. The connections rooms will allow visitors to dig deeper into West Virginia history and culture with computer stations, and provide facts about topics not covered in the show path and discovery rooms. The last scene as the visitor exits the museum will be a multimedia display of historic and scenic attractions in the state. The newly-renovated West Virginia State Museum is slated to open next year.

MCS of Charleston is the general contractor for the work. D & P, Inc., of Lorton, Va., is the specialty contractor and subcontractors ThemeWorks, Inc., of High Springs, Fla., and Antique Cabins and Barns, of Lewisburg are constructing many of the scenic elements.

For more information about the renovation project, contact Jacqueline Proctor, deputy commissioner of the Division, at (304) 558-0220.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.